Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk) Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
For #ManuscriptMonday here is a fragment of a Tangut inventory dating from the Western Xia (1038–1227) which was unearthed in 2005 at the Shanzuigou 山嘴沟 site in the Helan mountains of Ningxia 1/4
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
The first column only has one complete character (𗽁 'tile'), and the next two columns are written in semi-cursive Tangut characters (mentioning 𗦴 'coal' and 𗌙 'butter'), unusually with the dates written in Chinese 2/4
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
But of particular interest are the last two columns of Tangut text on the right, in a different, neater, hand:
𗂽𘕰𗏁𗰗□𗂽𘕰𗍫𗰗...
𗾈𘕰𗰗𗏁□𘝾𘎃...
which translate as:
sheep tree fifty [pieces], sheep tree twenty ...
virtuous tree twelve [pieces], li fowl ...
3/4
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
The Tangut character after the number of trees (tree names that are unattested elsewhere) should be a measure word for trees or planks, but although it is written neatly twice, it is not the same as any dictionary Tangut character, and the editors of the 2007 catalogue are unable to identify it. 4/5
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
Actually, as is often the case with hand-written Tangut text, the character is a miswritten form of a common character, in this case the Tangut character 𗀻 meaning 'inch' (a transliteration of the Chinese character 寸 cùn), which makes perfect sense here. 5/5
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
Me in August 2016 with the enormous Tangut inscription standing at the entrance to the Western Xia tombs near Yinchuan ...
chinadigitaltimes.net/post/3l734nig4nb2i
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
... this enormous monument is actually a replica of three joined fragments (31.0 × 25.5 cm.) of a Tangut stele that were excavated in 1998 from Tomb L3 which is believed to be the mausoleum for Lǐ Yuánhào 李元昊, first Emperor of the Western Xia (r. 1038–1048)
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
A fragment of the Heart Sutra hand-written in Mongolian on the back of a page from a woodblock printed edition of a Tangut Buddhist text, recovered from the Northern Area of the Mogao Caves near Dunhuang between 1988 and 1995
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
This week I identified an apparently overlooked new Tangut character in this fragment of an otherwise lost page (folio 56a) of a printed edition of the Tangut Homophones 𗙏𘙰 held at the British Library (英藏黑水城文獻 v. 5 p. 379, not yet digitized on IDP unfortunately)
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
It's the partial character on the bottom right of the fragment, where only the left side and a bit of the right side are preserved. However, the small gloss character below left (𘃻) enables us to reconstruct the character, and establish a partial reading for it.
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
The gloss character 𘃻 ên¹ is elsewhere in Homophones used with another gloss character to fanqie-spell a Tangut character used for phonetic transcription: 𘔗 = 𘔚 + 𘃻 (nɪn¹ + ên¹ = nên¹); 𘝰 = 𘄎 + 𘃻 (ngi¹ + ên¹ = ngên¹).
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
In each case the phonetic character is constructed from one side of the first gloss character (left side of 𘔚 nɪn¹, right side of 𘄎 ngi¹) and the left side of the second gloss character (𘃻 ên¹).
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
By analogy with the above examples, we can deduce that the partially-preserved character is composed from one side of a character with a 𘡫-component and the left side of the gloss character 𘃻 (i.e. ⿰𘡫𘤳), but as the first gloss character is almost completely lost it cannot be certainly identified.
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
The two gloss characters also provide the reading. Although we don't know what the reading of the first gloss character is, the entry is in the Initial IX section (liquids), so it most likely had an l- or r- initial. So we can posit a possible reading of lên¹ for the new character.
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
Tangut Proverbs #100: 𘄡𗇋𗕎𗕎𘒣𘓐𗛮 𗲌𗋽𗨷𘙥𗶷𘓐𗝿 = "A wise man speaks calmly and the people are convinced by him, the river waters run slowly and the people go into it"
bsky.app/profile/norabonsai.bsky.social/post/3kieod3oxkk2a
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
This is the final section of the last Tangut text to be uploaded (at my request) to the International Dunhuang Project before the death of the British Library website last year ...
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
As you can see from the end title in the middle of the above image, this is a substantial fragment of 𗆧𗰖𗬻𘜼𘋥𘝿 (known in English as "Newly Assembled Precious Dual Maxims" or "Newly Collected Brocade Matching Proverbs"), a collection of proverbs which provided the material for my first post on bluesky
bsky.app/profile/babelstone.co.uk/post/3k2uvfbjft526
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
A complete woodblock edition of the proverbs, printed in 1187, is held at the Institute of Oriental Studies in Saint Petersburg (Tang 35/1). The main text comprises 364 proverbs, each a couplet of between 3 and 18 characters per line, with the couplets arranged according to length.
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
A complete woodblock edition of the proverbs, printed in 1187, is held at the Institute of Oriental Studies in Saint Petersburg (Tang 35/1). The main text comprises 364 proverbs, each a couplet of between 3 and 18 characters per line, with the couplets arranged according to length.
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
Last year I spent many hours transcribing the Tangut Proverbs (𗆧𗰖𗬻𘜼𘋥𘝿) into Unicode text, and today I uploaded the finished text to Wikisource (you probably won't be able to see the Tangut text on mobile, but should be able to on desktop with a suitable Unicode Tangut font installed)
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
Soooo, there is no English translation of the Tangut proverbs that I know of, but there are exactly 364 of them, so if I start tomorrow I should be able to translate one a day finishing on New Year's Eve. It would not be easy, and the meanings of many are impenetrable ... but should I try it anyway?
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
This partial manuscript scroll of the Tangut proverbs (𗆧𗰖𗬻𘜼𘋥𘝿) is now available to view on the new and improved IDP website at idp.bl.uk/collection/9...
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
From almost five years ago, a photograph by Tai Chung-pui (unfortunately stuck on X) of me and Prof. Arakawa Shintarō at the Bibliothèque nationale de France examining an unidentified Tangut dharani, one of about 200 Tangut fragments recovered from Mogao caves 464 and 465 in 1908.
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
From a twitter thread now archived at www.babelstone.co.uk/Twitter/Arch...
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
Fragment of a Western Xia (1038–1227) thangka painting of the female tantric deity Vajravārāhī (Tangut 𗍥𘟙𗘅𗴺 = 金剛亥母 = རྡོ་རྗེ་ཕག་མོ 'vajra sow') from the Shānzuǐgōu 山嘴沟 Buddhist cave complex in the Helan mountains of Ningxia.
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
These are the only other thangka fragments found at the Shānzuǐgōu site ...
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
But what originally drew researchers to the Shānzuǐgōu caves in 2004 were various Buddhist murals inside and around the entrances to some of the caves, which were thought (correctly) to date to the Western Xia
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
Most of the murals have been heavily scratched over with inane graffiti in Chinese
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
Some of the graffiti dates back to the Ming dynasty, for example the box to the left of the Buddhist figure in this mural has been roughly inscribed with the date: 9th day of the 5th month of the 35th year of the Jiajing era 嘉靖三十五年五月初九日 (=25 June 1556).
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
And then an amazing discovery was made! When the researchers set up ladders outside one of the caves in order to reach the higher murals, they unexpectedly uncovered clumps of handwritten and printed Tangut texts within the debris on the ground outside the cave.
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
Between August and October 2005 over 650 fragments of manuscripts and printed editions of Tangut texts, as well as a few Tibetan and Sanskrit items, were recovered from three of the caves at the site. These were were published in 2007 in this two-volume catalogue which I acquired in Hohhot in 2016.
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
If you are interested in knowing more about the discoveries at the Shanzuigou caves then please take a look at my blog post from 2020 where I discuss some of the more interesting Tangut, Tibetan, and Sanskrit items that were found there www.babelstone.co.uk/Blog/2020/07...
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
Two Western Xia (1038–1227) colour-painted clay statues of the Water-Moon form of Avalokiteśvara (水月觀音), from the Lǜchéng 緑城 site in Inner Mongolia (my photos: left at Inner Mongolia Museum in Hohhot; right at the old Xixia Museum in Yinchuan) 𗢰𘓩𗯨𗙏𘝯𘋢𗥤!
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
The Tangut name for Avalokiteśvara is 𗯨𗙏𘝯 ri̯ụ¹ ꞏệi² mbi̯oɯ¹, literally 'world-sounds observe', which is a calque of Chinese 觀世音 guān shìyīn '[one who] observes the sounds [of the cries] of the world'. The invocation, highlighted in red in the image, is 𗢰𘓩𗯨𗙏𘝯𘋢𗥤 Namo Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva!
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
My favourite number system is the set of 'ritual' Tangut numbers used for certain special purposes, which are written with two different sets of characters depending on usage en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangut_...
The killer feature is that 4 and 7 are pronounced identically!
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
Fragments of an illustrated woodblock printed Tangut text which appeared at Chinese auctions in 2014, 2016, and 2019 (www.babelstone.co.uk/Tangut/Aucti...) correspond to the Chinese Yoga Rite for feeding the Flaming Mouth Ghosts 瑜伽焰口
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
For example, this Tangut fragment matches this page in the Chinese text, where: 𗢰𘓩𗴒𗃬𗈜𗌮𗆐 = 南無離怖畏如來 and 𘀍𘉒𗩤𘕜𘈪𗍣𘁂𘈪𗏤𘕜𗫂𘁂 = 捺謨微葛怛得囉(二合)耶荅塔葛達耶, although the Tangut has 𗍣 bja² (for Sanskrit bha) instead of 得囉(二合) which I cannot explain.
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
Here is the Chinese version (via @edwardw2.bsky.social) archive.org/details/2022...
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
And this is the correspondence between the remaining Tangut text on the fragment and the start of the next page in the Chinese version:
𗱕𗢳𘈷𘆄。𗓱𗴒𗃬𗈜𗌮𗆐𗗙𗦻𗿸𗓁。𗌭𗍳𘆄。𗏹𘗲𗴴。𘄂𘘂……
諸佛子等。若聞離怖畏如來名號。能令汝等。常得安樂。永離驚怖。清浄快樂。
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
I need to stop now, and get back to Tangut cats, but here are a couple more examples from the 2014 auction. Firstly:
𗙫𘕜𘕜𘀍。𘅄𗍣𘎧。𗍣𗱽𘃜𗰂。
唵葛葛納。三婆縛。斡資囉斛。
oṃ gagana sabhava vajra hoḥ
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
Secondly, this one where the Tangut mudrā seems to be quite different to that shown in the Chinese text (can you spot the apparent error in the Tangut version?)
𘕕𘏨𗖵𗨳𘔼 歸依三寶故
𗹙𗖵𗓱𗧯𗦇 如法堅固持
𘝵𗹏𘟀𗵘𗈜 自離邪見道
𘌽𘔼𗤶𗨳𘐔 是故志心禮
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
Tangut proverb (𘋥𘝿 folio 21b):
𘁏𘁅𘘤𗅁𗉝𗋚𘏊𗽓𗅁𘙇𘐏𗅠𗅋𘎘
𗉟𘁑𘘤𗅁𗲔𗋚𘏊𗔇𘂤𘙇𘐏𗺱𗅋𘏉
If you stuff a bull's skin with hay and place it in a marsh then the cows will not sniff it
If you stuff a cat's skin with cake and place it in a granary then the mice will not bore into it
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
There is very little information on cats in Tangut literature, other than the dictionary definition that 'cats are catchers of mice' (𗺱𗯹𗇋𘟂), and the strange equation of cats (𗉟𘁑 ꞏa¹ mbi̯oɯ¹) with '𗇟𗲾' khə² swen¹ which the modern dictionaries gloss as macaques or gibbons.
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
Cats occur in this recipe for plasters for post-moxibustion sores [IOM Inv. No. 2630]
𗸴𗇸𗩁𗐲𗳀，
𗴲𗇸𗔔𘁝𘏚，
𘌞𗸵𗐲𗳀𗆧，
𗈋𗇸𗫾𘍎𗁲。
In Springtime [use] willow catkins,
In Summertime [use] inside of bamboo,
In Autumn [use] new floss,
In Wintertime [use] rabbit hair.
1/2
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
𘌽𗫂𗫾𘍎𗏜𗀔𗭮𘟔𗫂𘟂，
𘁑𗏜𗀔𗭮𘟔𘂆𘍳𘄽。This is the soft down from the belly of a rabbit; soft down from the belly of a cat is especially good.
2/2
That's all I know about Tangut cats 🐈
Andrew West 魏安 (@babelstone.co.uk)
A final note. Tangut sources give two words for 'cat', both apparently derived from Chinese:
𗉟𘁑 ꞏa¹ mbi̯oɯ¹ from 阿貓 āmāo
𘁑𗄋 mbi̯oɯ¹ źi̯e¹ from 貓兒 māo'ér
Chinese | Jurchen | Khitan | Ogham | Phags-pa | Runic | Tangut | Tibetan
Books | Personal | Publications